Steel Magnolias #31

Good morning ladies. I got up to go to the bathroom around 5 and coming back to bed, tripped over the stupid cat who stopped dead in front of me in the bedroom. I wrenched the knee just a bit so it is too sore to try and go back to sleep so I just came downstairs.

Jean: My husband's paternal grandmother used to cook breakfast for us when we would drive through Mineral Wells on our way to see his parents in Las Cruces when we were young. We would visit with her and then stay the night and she would fix breakfast. She made terribly runny scrambled eggs, Tang, and tomato gravy! For breakfast!!! It was awful. You couldn't hurt the poor woman's feelings, but I just could not eat that gravy. The eggs were bad enough even though I eat over easy eggs. I noticed my mil, even though she died in her early 50's had gone downhill in the cooking department before she died. Hope I don't lose my touch too early or we will starve to death! lol

We did a Walmart run last night, ate a bite out and came home. I then worked up a menu and grocery shopping list for the next two weeks and I am off to the commissary today. You know how I love that, but it needs to be done. The commissary is closed on Mondays so it is today or tomorrow and I just want to get it done. Jack is going to get a haircut before we go and I need to try and get a couple things at Krogers that neither Walmart or th commissary carries. I hate having to run all over town for the stuff I need, but it usually ends up that way.

I have half of Thomas's stocking cap done and the sleeve about 4 rows from being done, then I can do the other one. I had to end up ordering a circular needle for the neckline of the sweater because they had you sewing up the shoulder seam and then trying to knit the neckline on and you can't do it. So, I am going to sew the other seam up and when the circ gets here, I will just pick up and knit the neckline stitches that way. I do great shoulder, sleeve and side seam sewing, but I really stink at the necks and don't know how to make myself better at it.

I guess I better get the morning chores done. I went upstairs last night after the Cubs started losing pretty badly and watched my Gidget CD and laughed hysterically at a couple of the episodes until Jack came to bed around midnight. I always loved Gidget when I was growing up, the movies and especially the tv shows. I really only liked the Gidget movies with Sandra Dee as Gidget and hunky James Darren as Moon Doggy, but I did like those. I have always been a Sandra Dee fan, especially the movies she made with her husband, Bobby Darren. I guess I have a "Darren" fixation! lol I saw James Darren several months ago in a picture as he was performing in Vegas and even being over 60 the man is still gorgeous and doesn't look like he has aged. What is it with men, anyway! lol

Good Morning, Flowers! I've been up since 6 and to a garage sale this morning. I was interested in a set of Pfaltzgraff dishes, service for 12. I know the couple and they just got married (one divorced and the other a widow), so I assumed they were selling items they couldn't use. The pattern was Southwestern and nothing I wanted -- they wanted $100 for the complete set which is a very good price. I was bummed hoping for a more plain pattern. Now I'm doing laundry and am going to start on basement boxes. I'm not finished upstairs, but Bob wants to put the basement back together and I won't let him go through boxes without me supervising.

"Gma" -- It sounds like you have a busy day planned. I don't think the food I cook tastes as good as it used to either. I never did like to cook so have been watching quite a bit of the food channel this summer hoping some of it would rub off on me. They make it look so easy! I usually end up going to two different grocery stores if I have a long list. The one is much cheaper, but they carry a limited supply of many things; if I want the 8 oz. size they have the gallon size, etc. I always liked the Sandra Dee type movies -- just plain fun movies with no blood nor violence in them.

I'm off to fold a dryer full of towels. Have a grand day and don't forget to smile!

Good morning gals! Hope your Sunday is beautiful. We got some rain overnight, which "muggied" things up more, but we can always use some rain.

Got all the groceries now and all the running around done. I need to wrap a birthday gift for my friend and get the postage and run it over to the post office and get it shipped off, but I can do that the middle of the week and just run it over there after dinner.

I finished sewing up all of Thomas's sweater, am going to put the one sleeve on today that I have finished, start the other sleeve and wait for the circ needle to get here so I can do the neck then it will be done. I like it when the CUBS are on radio instead of tv, I get a lot more done and I finished up a bunch of stuff yesterday. I would do some on one then put it down and work the other, then switch so I didn't get too bored. I am, however, tired of blue and white stripes! lol I do have a good deal of Jackson's hat finished too, but will start his sweater before we go on vacaiton and take it with me. I bought the bamboo needles yesterday so I don't have any problem getting them through airport security.

I have started my to do list for vacation. As I think of things I want to pack, I add it to the list. I am always afraid of leaving something important home, like the camera, or not doing something, like taking care of the cat's needs.

My dd has a yorkie also, though Marty is considerably bigger than Fortune. Poor little thing had something wrong with his liver and had a tumor on the back of his neck. They had him operated on this week and she sent a picture of his little neck. She called it Frankenpuppy. Poor guy has this ugly little scar and the hair is all shaved around it. They have had him ever since they got together so he is over 10 years old. Unlike Fortune, Marty is a barker, though and a squirrel chaser.

Today is Nascar race day and again the Cubs are on tv at the same time so we flip back and forth to try and catch both. I am going to fix chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch I think.

Well gals, I need to go. Have a good rest of the weekend and talk to you tomorrow!

Good Afternoon, Flowers! I slept in again this morning -- this could get to be a very bad habit in short order. We skipped church thinking we would be going to MIL's, but she called saying she and Bob's sister had spent the night in the hospital. SIL has MS and is on meds (too many, but what do I know?); she got up to go to the bathroom during the night and fell. MIL couldn't pick her up so called 911. Evidently SIL has a bladder infection which made her regular meds get screwed up. MIL thought they would let her go after the doctor visited this morning. MIL called back saying they were going to keep SIL for observation for at least another day if not two. There was no point in our going since MIL was tired from being up most of the night and wanted to sleep. So we shampooed the area rugs on my "wonderful" laminate floor. I'm looking for a picture and have been digging through drawers, sorting, and pitching some old paper stuff we no longer need. I don't know why I save half the stuff I do!

"Gma" -- The blue and white stripes are very pretty/handsome/attractive! I love that color blue. I finally made a check list for when we go to MN every summer. We have to take everything we might want for cooking although there are dishes, pots 'n pans, etc. We do mostly paper plates and plastic cups. I take all the bathroom hand towels and kitchen towels, etc. There is a grocery store nearby, but if you only need a small amt. of something, their prices are high and it makes more sense to bring it from home. I hope your granddog gets along ok; it's so hard to have a sick animal. Ten years is pretty old for a dog, isn't it? I don't know much about dogs since we've always had cats.

I need to get back to the basement boxes. We found multiple boxes of Beth's doll stuff and sorted stuff by the type of doll. I think she got into some of my doll stuff along the way. I have my doll crib . . . it has wooden slats with the company name on one slat and $1.50 on another. Bob thought I should get rid of it . . . I don't think so!

Jack got called into work yesterday morning early. I guess a lightening strike hit the plant and power was completely out. They had called MLGW, who came out and said it wasn't their problem so they called in Jack. He was out there all day so I finished sewing the sweater and now I just have to knit up the other sleeve and put it in then knit on the neck when my circ gets here. I also finished Jackson's hat that I tore out and redid, but am waiting for a friend to tell me how to do something for the top of it I want to do instead of a pompom.

I sat around and knit pretty much all day. I watched the baseball game and the Nascar race at the same time and the Cubs won and so did Tony Stewart so it was a good sports day for the Wilkinsons!

We are hoping it doesn't rain tomorrow so we can do swim night at Kelly's. I am anxious to see Thomas and talk to her about taking him to the movies or something over the next couple weekends before he starts school. I'd like to have him for the day, but I don't know if I could keep him entertained. He has some games here and I have lots of movies and the pool, but I wouldn't want him to get bored.

Jean: I wouldn't trust Jack to go through anything by himself, though he would never do it. He is one of those men that will do anything you ask of him, but you have to ask! Hope you are getting your basement back in order now. It is good to hear Ryan is breathing on his own, that is something important.

Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is shining and it is promising to be a hot humid day in my corner of the world. We need rain! I need to make a Hallmark run for a couple of special cards I didn't know I needed last week when I was there. I should stop at the grocery store too. It seems like I have been cooking more (and enjoying it less) this summer. Anyhow, the dishwasher seems to be full more often! I will continue to work on my sorting and pitching when I get home.

"Gma" -- When Jack has to work on the weekend will he get a day "off" during the week instead? Sundays always seem like a long day if Bob is gone for some reason. He is going fishing in Canada, in Aug., but I will be back in school so I won't be home during the day. The weekends seem to fly by during the school year. What kind of a top do you want for Jackson's hat? Ryan's update today didn't sound as positive as yesterday . . . good days and not-so-good days, I guess. His temp. has been up and down again. I can't imagine what must go on in big hospitals while we continue to live in our normal routine bubble.

Susan -- If you are at work, I hope your day is going well.

I'm going to get dressed and get my day going. You all have a great day! Remember to SMILE!

Good morning gals! Well, it is a bit early, but my knees are aching (could be possible rain) so I took some pain medicine and am sitting down here waiting for it to work.

Jean: I finished Jackson's little hat and I think the little i-cords on top turned out cute. I had to mess with them a bit to attach them all, but I finally figured out the best way was to bundle them in sets of three then take each bundle down. I am including a picture of the little cardigan pattern. I am going to put little baseball buttons on it though and do i-cord loop closures instead of buttonholes. For one thing, I stink at making good buttonholes and secondly, they won't stretch out this way. Jack doesn't get a day off during the week if he works on the weekends, he gets paid time and a half. So he made a nice fat $400, which will go into the vacation fund. Ryan's kind of injury does have a lot of ups and downs I have heard. He is a big strapping looking strong kid. I am sure he is going to pull out of this just fine. He has a lot of people pulling and praying for him.

My circs should be in on Wednesday so I have to get that other sleeve done so I can finish the darn thing. I am going to order some blue and red yarn in a couple weeks and start a scarf for my son for his birthday in October. He is a pretty big man and he says no one makes his scarves long enough for his big neck (he wears a 18 inch collar) so that he can wrap the sweater around his neck and have it still hanging in front so I plan on a nice long 8 foot scarf for him in CUBS colors then get some CUBS patches or lapel pins and put on his scarf.

I better go. My pain med is making me loopy and I see I am making a lot of typos so it is time to quit! lol

Good Morning, Flowers! I'm just checking in for a minute. I came upstairs to get dressed and get my day going. More of the same planned for today. After two trips to the grocery store yesterday (I came home w/o 4 items I paid for and it turned out it was the manager's son who checked me out) and two trips to the vision care office because I bought the wrong contact stuff, I didn't get much done yesterday. Once I leave the house I seem to be done for the day as far as accomplishing anything around here goes.

"Gma" -- I love the little top-knot things on Jackson's hat! I hope his eyes peek out better than the bear's do. He will look real spiffy in his hat and sweater. It's nice that Jack gets paid overtime when he has to go in on the weekend. When I worked retail we used to get time and a half if we worked on Sundays or holidays. I never minded the weekends because our kids were little and Bob was home with them.

Susan -- Whheeerrrreeeee are you? I hope all is ok and you are just busy at work.

Good morning ladies! Well, it is hump day and that puts us one day closer to vacation!

Susan: Hope all things are well with you and Stan. We always worry when we haven't seen you in here in several days.

Jean: Sounds like you did the hamster in a wheel bit yesterday. I always hate it when I get home and something I paid for is missing. I imagine it must have been a bag full of stuff since it was more than one item he didn't put in? I have become an eagle eye about groceries and stuff because people are so careless about it.

I am finally working on the last sleeve for T's sweater and the needles should be in today so I can do the neck and then I am finished with it. I ordered some blue and red yarn to start a "Cubs" scarf for my son for his birthday and am going to get a patch to sew on the ends. The stupid patches cost more than the yarn did. They are $13 apiece! That is just ridiculous, but I haven't been able to find them cheaper.

I talked to my son yesterday and they are definitely coming here at Thanksgiving, which will be nice. He said I could babysit Jackson so they could go downtown to Beale street one night. Cool! I look forward to that. It would be nice if I could get both of them, but Kelly is miffed at her brother again so who knows?

I am going to go out and try and clean up the deck today and put summer stuff away. Since the squirrel tore up my patio cushions and I had to throw them away, I am just going to put the stuff in the garage for the rest of the season. I am going to check at Lowes and see if there is a product you can spray on stuff that would make the squirrels stay away from it. I don't want to buy new stuff and they do it all over again. It is like they go psycho or something.

I guess I better get busy. I have a lot I want to accomplish today and my knee is a bit sore this morning so it will be slow going.

Good Morning, Flowers! I'm just here to peek in and check out the Caringbridge website -- Ryan is on dialysis now and had a tracheotomy yesterday. Some days the updates are good and other days not so good. No one is giving a prognosis yet. I've got to speed of my sorting and pitching!

"Gma" -- Actually, I was only missing two packages of bacon and two cans of deviled ham. When I went back the asst. manager said the kid had them in a sack and they were pushed to the side so he missed them. The kid was busy yakking with the carry-out guy and not paying attention. I had enough other bags that I didn't notice I was missing anything until I got home. I wonder if anything much is said to the checker when something like this happens. I should have asked to have the items delivered! It was not big deal since I live right here, but we have several smaller towns around and those people shop here. We had a squirrel rip apart a canvas cover on our patio table last winter. We assume he/she lined his/her nest with it. They also destroyed a stuffed cushion that the party people behind us left out on their deck. They were busy little critters! I hope that Thomas can spend time with you when Jackson is there. Since they are the only cousins it would be nice if they got to be together whenever possible. My kids haven't lived near cousins since they were under 5; they are cordial when together, which rarely happens, but have never been close or keep in contact. Bob's sister and brothers do not keep in touch on a regular basis either. I hope your knee feels better as the day goes on. Don't work too hard!

Okay, ladies, I'm alive and well and now have electricity again! We had some bad storms and the power was out from Monday morning until yesterday around noon...talk about having a back log of work.

We went to see Harry Potter movie Sunday. First time we were able to get out in 2 years to go to a movie. We have a nice theater here that has a special section for wheelchair users and their companions.

Jean, I'll keep praying - miracles do happen. When you have to go on dialysis because of an accident, it can be stopped when the kidneys start working again.

Faye, all that sports stuff for the teams is so overpriced it should be illegal. I'm glad Jackson is coming to see the grands!

Have to get to work now - booking a trip to Boston for my boss.

Susan

__________________
Susan

HW 356 pounds - CW 131 - GW 137

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

BEWARE FOR LURKERS: THERE ARE HARRY POTTER SPOILERS DISCUSSED IN THIS POST!!!!!

Hello ladies! I am glad the week is winding down. Jack told me last night that we can now say, "Our vacation is later this month," instead of next month! lol I am glad I signed up for all the casino/hotels email deals as we got a terrific one so we saved lots and lots of $$$.

Susan: Glad you have power again. So, how did you like the movie? I keep saying that if you watch the movie as a sequel to the other movies, it is great, but if you watch it and compare it to the book, it falls really short. Of course the movie would have had to be hours and hours long to accomodate all that went on in that book as it was the biggest, but some of the stuff I didn't care for. I thought they made Luna too "normal." I thought in the books she was a complete loony and in the movie, she was just a bit ethereal in a sense. They didn't focus much on her penchant for animals that didn't exist and I think that is what made her goofy. Also, the book makes her sort of unattractive I think with big eyes and such, but you know you get a picture in your head of what they should look like and when they aren't in the movie, you are disappointed. I can't believe how much the kids have grown up, though. I also didn't like the fact they made Cho Chang the sneak, but I guess to cut down on time they had to make her the bad guy, though they cut out the pimple sneak word across her face. I have now read the last book twice through and will probably make another go at it. I like getting more and more out of them each time I read. I know what's coming now, but still sit and cry when Dobby dies then the part where Harry has to walk into the forest to his death. Oh my gosh, I just sob at that part! lol

Jean: Poor Ryan, he is sure in for a struggle and his parents have to be just beside themselves. I sure hope they can help him make progress and make a full recovery. My dd has a new floor and she complained that though she liked it, the cleaning all the time drove her nuts. She had white berber before that her dog pretty much destroyed. Never have white carpets with pets or kids is my motto, but the house was owned by an older couple who had no kids still in the home I guess.

I now have the rotten neckline to the sweater done. It is far from perfect but it looks ok as long as you aren't a knitter judging it. I hate doing the stupid things and this one was particularly difficult because of the stripes. They made the darn thing where the two rows of white were right in the center of the decrease and bind off for shoulders and neckline and made the thing impossible to sew up nicely. I took it out at least three times and tried various possibilities, but it still isn't as nice as I would like. I then had a difficult time picking up the neckline stitches and making them look right. It was a k4 p3 then reverse rib pattern, which made it come out wrong. I don't know how they did it as I picked up the correct amount of stitches three times and every time came out incorrectly with the pattern when I would knit the first row. Ahhh well, the section that is duplicated is in the back and isn't all that bad I guess. There is a color picture in the book and it looks great so obviously I am missing something somewhere. Ineptness be thy middle name! lol I had to then go in and work some stitching magic because the pattern of the stripes again falls where the white is just one row below the neckline so when you picked up stitches you had places where the white of the last stitch showed through. At least the seams and sleeves look good! He can wear it outside to play in if his mom hates it too much! lol I now just have to finish the sleeve, sew it up and sew it in then the thing is done.

Maybe I should transfer to socks and quit sweaters! lol

I guess I better get in gear and get the upstairs bathrooms cleaned. I wanted to do them yesterday, but went out and took off the cushions and put them out with the trash then cleaned the whole deck and put all the summer stuff away and clipped my holly bush and the other one. I was dead tired and soaking wet when I got in and I started around 8 AM. I decided that was enough for one day so I need to get upstairs and work today I guess.

Good Afternoon, Flowers! My "new" part of the french door is in and so is the kitchen window that was still under warranty. I am a happy camper! I started sorting through photos of the grandkids . . . big mistake because now I have another mess to work on. Will I ever learn! It is supposed to be another hot one although it is still nice outside.

"Gma" -- Ryan's dad is the man who had the heart/liver transplant 5 years, got an infection after being home several months, and then died. His mom has since wintered in AZ; she has done a lot of traveling with friends,etc. I'm sure she will feel responsible for Ryan's care once he gets to some point. We had light colored carpet and our traffic pattern is such that it is very visible. Bob says floors are to walk on with shoes so it seems like the carpet was always grimy looking. The laminate shows everything and 15 minutes after it's been cleaned, it looks grimy too.

Susan -- I'm glad to see you today! That is a long time to be without electricity. Did the office close or did you suffer through?

I have to get back to my photo project! I can watch Family Feud and sort at the same time!

Faye, none of the movies have lived up to the books, but they are enjoyable. I just try not to think about the book. The last book is a real 2 boxes of tissues read. Stan thought something was wrong with me. I started to tell him the end and he made me stop so he'd be surprised.

My husband is getting a new prosthesis today. He needs a smaller one since the muscle has finally finished atrophying. This will be a temporary again but he should be into his new, lighter weight, more natural looking leg by the holidays.

__________________
Susan

HW 356 pounds - CW 131 - GW 137

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Good morning everyone! I got a really nice email thank you from my girlfriend for the handbag I knitted and felted for her. She said to tell Jack thanks too. I told Jack last night that Becky said thank you for the birthday present even though I knitted it, I felted it, and I shipped it. He pipes up with, "Yes, but I paid for it." I laughed and told him it was always about money with him. It is a running joke with us because the one thing we never fought about was money, even when we struggled horribly all those years. He is always threatening to "cut me off" when I get yarn happy, but I tell him that since I pay all the bills only I truly know what is available and I may not be terrific at difficult math, but I would make a CPA proud with the way I can "cook the books."

Susan: That is wonderful news about Stan and his leg. I can't tell you how glad I am that things are really looking up for him. Jack peeked at the ending to see if Harry lived, but tempted though I was, I didn't peek. I really enjoyed the last book though so many characters that were favorites died. She sure had a knack for making the unlovable lovable sort of again (Kreacher and Snape) and the shy and bumbling heroic (Luna and Neville.) The one thing I wished she would have put in her book and maybe I just didn't see it, was Umbridge getting whacked! She killed off Bellatrix for us, but I think Umbridge survived. Of course with Kingsley being minister of magic, I imagine he packed her off to Azkaban! lol

Jean: I have photos I can't bear to part with, but have never put into scrapbooks to protect. There are bazillions of them in two long plastic storage boxes in Jack's office. They are the kind of boxes on rollers you can store under beds, etc. He took them out probably a year a go to find a picture of his dad and Jay as a baby and never put them back so they sit stacked in his office. Now that digital cameras are norm, I am terrible about getting prints of anything. I just store them on my computer. Jack bought this fancy pants printer, copyier, scanner deal that prints great pictures so if I want a picture, I just print if off here at home. Takes too much ink to print a lot of them, but the occasionap picture is nice to have at a moment's notice.

I had the neckline done and it bugged me so much I took a good look at it this morning without contacts or glasses (I have really sharp close up vision though my distance is horrible) and I see I have a couple just plain mistakes in the 3rd row, which may be why it bugged me so much, so I am in the process of taking out 4 rows and doing them over to see if that improves everything a great deal. I am coming along with the sleeve and have cast on and started about 20 rows in to Jackson's sweater. If I get ambitious and finish it, I still have Jay's long scarf to take on vacation with me and who knows, maybe I will visit a yarn shop in Vegas. Brother, I am really over the edge when I go to a yarn shop as part of my vacation! lol

The dusting and vacuuming have to be done upstairs today so I better get going and get some things done before going up there a little later.